To be shocked if this is true . State pension and benefits …?

[Springtimesoo]

I have worked all my life apart from
4 year degree( 3 year plus prof qualification )
and
a period at home when I had 2 dc under two and we could not afford nursery fees.

have just checked my pension forcast Which says that although I have paid 35 years in full , i will not get a full pension .

it seems that to get a full pension i need to pay just over 3k .

my friend , who is by choice long term unemployed. ( long story) says that she will get a full pension as she is on benefits .

how is that fair ? Its not true is it ?

I’m in work and claiming UC and I’m not going to work any more hours until my baby starts school, because it’s not beneficial for me to do so. The problem lies with the system.

No the extra is under SERPS, which no longer exists.

The 'transitional rules ' are that you get the higher of what you'd have got under the old systems and what you'd get under the new system. For most of us (including me, and I had 35 years by 2016) that means the new system.

Off the top of my head the only people who the 35 years isn't relevant for is people who had considerable amounts built up under SERPS who are going to receive more than the full state pension anyway.

There used to be extra pension based on the earnings that your NI contributions had been based on. So a higher earner would pay more NI and receive a higher pension.

Once you've earned the right to that higher pension they don't (usually) take it away.

You did have control. You could have opted out of your occupational pension scheme and paid the higher NI contribution

The current state pension is a NEW pension. You don’t qualify for the higher rate because you were contracted out. I’m the past those people that were not contracted out received an additional amount over and above the basic state pension. That is what the full state pension currently is. You will still receive the ‘basic’ state pension

Language Watch Edit The State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), originally known as the State Earnings Related Pension Supplement, was a UK Government pension arrangement, to which employees and employers contributed between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 2002, when it was replaced by the State Second Pension. Employees who paid full Class 1 National insurance contribution between 1978 and 2002 earned a SERPS pension. Members of occupational pension schemes could be "contracted out" of SERPS by their employer, in which case they and the employer would pay reduced NI contributions, and they would earn virtually no SERPS pension.

And you still get the basic state pension. But those that didn’t have an occupational pension scheme paid higher NI to get an additional element of state pension. You have not lost out.

Think of the old SERPS pension as the difference between the new full state pension and what most people will receive who were contracted out.

im on track to receive £185.15 per week as long as contribute one more year between now and when I reach state pension age. I have been in the public sector for over thirty years and contracted out for the majority of those years. I think the confusion is in the name. If they still referred to the additional state pension or higher level instead of ‘full’ I think some people wouldn’t be so confused

SERPS was for people who did have another pension that they were a member of. People who were contracted in paid higher NI contributions to provide them with an additional pension over and above the normal state pension. You have not lost out or been diddled.

**correction
SERPS was for people who did NOT have another pension they were a member of ….

deliberately avoided using the phrase “paid into” as some public sector schemes would have been non contributory schemes back in the day.

You were not contracted out of the state pension. You were contracted out of an additional state pension at the time called SERPS.

I haven't read all the posts, so please forgive if this has been mentioned 10 000 times already, but Martin Lewis did a really good 1.5 hr show on pensions one or two weeks ago. On ITV Catchup.

So what’s the difference between him receiving benefits now and a state pension at SPA. Should he just get cut off when he’s 67?

Just posted this on the other NI thread. Bugger.nobly realised this today after reading this thread.

Bloody hell between me and dh we will be £300 per month worse off when we retire than we thought.

We’ve both got 35 years and it says we get the £185 each and it can’t be improved. We thought we’d get this as well as our private pensions, but I’ve just learnt today that because we both opted out, £300 per month of that won’t be paid to us via the state pension but is supposed to be made up from the private pensions. We just assumed our private pension was additional income! Bugger!

Does anyone know for definite that any additional years we earn on top of the 35 years won’t make a difference to this? Say we do another 5 years will that affect the £300? I assume not from what I’ve read.

I assume the other way. I think the figure on the gov.uk site is what you'll get as state pension and anything else is on top of that.

My retirement plan is a bullet to the head. Apologies for the grimness, but my generation can't afford home ownership and state pension? I don't think that will even be still be an option by the time I reach SPA, whatever that will be.

I will, however, be ensuring the state provides for my disabled child before I shuffle off this mortal coil According to this thread, I've been ''sat on my arse'' whilst caring for a non verbal, incontinent aggressive child who in all likelihood will have cost £££s were it not for me.

I too am hoping for voluntary euthanasia @SpudleyLass. Grim as fuck but we have to be realistic. We’re inheriting a totally different world to those retired now and retiring soon.

The state does help to care for your child now and will continue to if you are not here

That isn't a normal healthy way to look at your future, I hope you realise that.

You will get £185 plus occupational pension. What it says in the government website is what you'll get paid. Occupational pension completely separate.

Can you blame them, then you have goady fuckers posting on this thread saying that anyone on benefits is workshy, and should be on fuck all pension when they hit retirement age.

What about my comment suggested that I think this is normal or healthy?

Of course it isn’t.

But neither is the direction of travel we’re going in as a society. I am working hard to provide for myself but I have no family, no spouse and no safety net. The population crisis means there probably isn’t going to be a state pension when I retire or the age will be so high that I expect many will die before reaching it. And that’s before we even get into climate change.

I’d take voluntary euthanasia tomorrow if it were an option because the way we’ve designed society is so fucking awful and depressing. The thought of another 40 years of work ahead of me is enough to make me feel that way!

I think you have misunderstood something. Nothing will be deducted. You will get your private/occupational pensions on top of whatever you get from the state pension.

my understanding from this thread is that
I think the cope figure is deducted from that £185 and is expected to be made up by the private pension. It’s not at all clear and I didn’t realise this till today.

When you look at the forecast you need to scroll down until it tells you if you’ve ever contracted out. If you have, then when you click on it it tells you how much the cope figure is and this is expected to be made up from your pension. So I believe that this figure is deducted from the £185.

What I’m trying to clarify is if this cope figure can be ignored if you pay more than the 35 years. Ie if you’ve contracted out for 6 years then by paying 41 years NI you can discount it? On the other thread a poster gave this link which gives me hope this is true.
www.telegraph.co.uk/pensions-retirement/news/contracted-out-deduction-state-pension-reduction-2022-uk-full-payout/

So basically some of us need to pay a lot more than 35 years to get £185 state pension.

Schnooze
Yes, you will be OK if you can ‘catch up’ with paying in for a few extra years, or else topping up for missed years if you are nearing retirement age.

The cope figure is not deducted from whatever your eventual state pension entitlement is. However most people who were contracted out will need more than 35 years of contributions to get the full £185. I think I need to pay 40, for example.